Greenbrae youth golfer taking first crack at Marin County Amateur

Shooting low scores is nothing new to Greenbrae's Nick Woo, especially at San Geronimo Golf Club where he's been playing since the age of 5.

Shooting low scores while playing from the black tees at San Geronimo during this weekend's seventh edition of the Marin County Amateur will be another thing for the Redwood High incoming freshman.

Woo, at age 14, will be the youngest in the field at the Marin County Amateur — which has two flights: championship (7.4 index or lower) and senior (age 50 and over and 9.4 index or lower) during the 36-hole tournament beginning Saturday.

He will be competing with some of the top local talent including defending champ Alex Franklin of San Rafael, San Geronimo's Matt Seramin and San Anselmo's Larry Salk.

Playing with mostly adults and some high school and college-age kids doesn't intimidate Woo, nor the fact that the course is around 800 yards longer from the back black tees as opposed to the white tees he's accustomed to.

"I am definitely the youngest ... maybe there will be a few 17-year olds playing," Woo said. "I think (playing with adults) used to be intimidating for me when I didn't hit the ball as long. Now that I can hit the ball as long as adults (he averages 250-260 yards on his drives), it doesn't really bother me."

Woo has shown he can tame the often treacherous San Geronimo course, which can be particularly brutal on the back nine when the wind kicks up.

He shot a 7-under-par 65 there from the white tees a few weeks ago during a weekly skins game the club holds. He also shot 71 on the same course to claim the junior amateur title last summer.

"I couldn't miss a putt," Woo said about his round of 65. "Everything fell into place that day. Most of the putts (I made) were from 20 feet. The farthest was a 35-footer."

Woo had a chance to equal the course record of 63 — shared by Branson School grad Zack Miller and Tim Bogue from the black tees also during skins games — with birdies on the final two holes. He three-putted from eight feet on No. 17 to fall to 6 under, but then stuck a pitching wedge within four feet and drained a tricky putt to finish at 7 under — two off the record.

"I think it boosted my confidence a lot," said Woo, who is hoping to break 80 in both rounds.

Joe Woo, his dad, who is a scratch golfer and won the San Geronimo club championship two years ago, thinks his son can do better than that.

"If he plays his best, he can shoot under par from the black tees," Joe said. "I wouldn't be surprised if he shot 68 or 69 ... somewhere in that range. He has to be putting really well and striking the ball well ... basically, driving the ball well. It's a lot tougher to recover from a bad drive from a longer distance than a shorter one."

Redwood boys golf coach Ben Kline, who works part time in the pro shop at San Geronimo, hasn't seen Woo play much but is looking forward to seeing him wearing the red team colors.

"With our (top three) seniors gone, he's going to be an important part of our team," said Kline, who has been with Redwood for three of its four consecutive league tournament titles.

Al Lyle, Woo's junior merit mentor at the Meadow Club, can picture him playing at a Division I college some day.

"He's got real potential," said Lyle, who has been a member at Meadow Club for nearly 30 years. "I could see him being a D-I prospect. Hopefully for a Pac-12 school. He's got the skills and the love for the game."

Woo got off to an early start to his golf career.

He was 2 when he picked up his first club and impressed dad at the driving range when they lived in New York City.

The next year, when they moved back to California and were remodeling a house in San Carlos, Joe needed to find a distraction for his son.

"He was getting in my way while I was trying to taking a fence down," said Joe, a 42-year-old State Farm insurance agent in Greenbrae. "I told him to hit golf balls into that fence and break it down. He spent the next two hours ripping golf balls into that fence. It was the first time I really had seen him hit a golf ball. I was like, 'Wow, I need to take him out to the course.

"He started playing and I've been coaching him ever since."

After the Marin County Amateur, Woo will keep busy until school starts in the fall. He's playing in the Veritas World Junior Championships starting Tuesday in southern California and then at the San Francisco Junior at Lincoln Park Golf Course the following week. He is the defending city champ in the 12-13 age division and also is the defending champ for that age group at San Geronimo Junior Open, which he plans to play on Aug. 7.

He is also trying to earn a trip to Augusta to play in the Drive, Chip and Putt Competition a week before the Masters. He will have to make it through two stages of qualifying, starting with the one on July 28 at Poplar Creek Golf Course in San Mateo.

For now his focus is on San Geronimo this weekend.

"He's got all the talent in the world, a great temperament on the course, raw natural talent and good instincts," said Jim Murray, who's in his fourth year as a teaching pro at San Geronimo. "He's got every chance to the be the youngest ever to win (the amateur). That would be nice to see."

Marin County Amateur

What: Seventh annual golf tournament with two flights — championship (7.4 index or lower) and senior (ages 50 and over with 9.4 index or lower)

Last year: San Rafael's Alex Franklin shot rounds of 72 and 66 to win by three strokes in the championship flight. Petaluma's Phil Yim (73-75) won the senior flight with a birdie putt on the fourth playoff hole.